The company aims to grow internally through volume increases from population growth, household formation and new business formation, and through long-term contracts, while also focusing on securing price increases to offset increased costs and improve operating margins.

The company is expanding recycling volume through innovative material handling processes and programs, including the construction of their first Polymer Center in Las Vegas and a joint venture with Ravago, Blue Polymers, LLC, to further advance circularity.

The company's acquisition strategy focuses primarily on acquiring privately held recycling and waste companies and environmental solutions businesses, and also through public-private partnerships with municipalities and other local governments.

The company uses a standardized operating model, the Republic Way, to deliver consistent, high-quality service, leveraging its scale and standardizing processes with rigorous controls and tracking.

The company has a dedicated safety team and the Safety Amplified program, which includes six initiatives to achieve zero employee fatalities and reduce OSHA recordable incident rates.

The company is committed to maintaining a highly engaged workforce, developing talent through learning and development experiences, and offering rewards to attract and retain the best workforce. The company's employee engagement score was 86 in 2023, above the national benchmark.

The company is exposed to general economic and market conditions, including inflation, changes in fuel prices, interest rates, labor, risk, health insurance and other variable costs, as well as fluctuations in prices for recycled commodities.

The company faces risks related to compliance with environmental and flow control regulations, and the ability to obtain approvals for landfills and other facilities, as well as changes relating to PFAS and other chemicals of emerging concern.

The company is exposed to risks related to interruptions and breaches of its information technology systems that could adversely affect operations, as well as the negative impact that a cyber-security incident could have on its business and relationships with customers and employees.

The company operates in a competitive industry with a few large national publicly-owned companies, several regional publicly- and privately-owned companies and thousands of small privately-owned companies, as well as competition from municipalities that maintain material collection or disposal operations.

The company competes for collection accounts primarily based on its product offering, quality of service and price, while also competing with municipalities that have financial advantages due to tax revenue and tax-exempt financing.

The company's ability to maintain and increase prices in certain markets may be impacted by competitors' pricing policies, which may have an effect on future revenue and profitability.

The company has rolled out several productivity and cost control initiatives designed to deliver the best service possible to customers in an efficient and environmentally sound way.

The company is converting residential routes to automated single-driver trucks and using a standardized vehicle maintenance program to minimize variability in maintenance processes, resulting in higher vehicle quality and a lower environmental footprint.

The company is focused on preventative maintenance to improve the reliability of its fleet and enable superior service to customers, differentiating it from its competition.

The company is prioritizing digital capabilities to provide a consistent experience across its business, investing in digital platforms to enable customers to do business through more channels and with better access to information.

The company is leveraging technology to digitally connect customers, drivers, dispatchers, supervisors and trucks via its RISE dispatch platform and in-cab technology, improving productivity through real-time routing information and data visualization tools.

The company is deploying advanced technology on recycling and waste collection routes that utilizes cameras to identify recycling contamination and overfilled containers, which is expected to reduce recycling contamination and drive incremental revenue.

The company takes a consistent and balanced approach to capital allocation to drive long-term, sustainable value for shareholders, including investing in acquisitions and returning free cash flow to shareholders through dividends and share repurchases.

The company's board of directors approved an increase in the quarterly dividend to $0.535 per share, which represents an increase of approximately 8% over the prior year, and expects to continue paying quarterly cash dividends.

The company's board of directors approved a $3.0 billion share repurchase authorization effective starting January 1, 2024, and extending through December 31, 2026, to create long-term shareholder value.

The company has established ambitious 2030 sustainability goals aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions, increasing material recovery, and creating sustainable neighborhoods.

The company is focused on offering products and services to address the complex sustainability needs of its customers, including operations that allow for greater material circularity and support decarbonization.

The company's Board of Directors' Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility Committee has oversight responsibility with respect to sustainability performance, corporate responsibilities and the company's role as a socially responsible organization.

The company's facilities and operations are subject to a variety of federal, state, provincial and local requirements that regulate, among other things, the environment, public health, safety, zoning and land use, and changes in these regulations could increase operating costs or require additional capital expenditures.

The company's operating revenues tend to be somewhat higher in the summer months, primarily due to higher volumes of construction and demolition waste, and its operations can be adversely affected by periods of inclement or severe weather and natural disasters.

The company's operations can be adversely affected by periods of inclement or severe weather and natural disasters, which could increase the volume of material collected under existing contracts, delay the collection and disposal of material, or delay the construction or expansion of landfill sites and other facilities.